The spirit of Wells, convinced he was murdered, is unable to move on to the afterlife. He strives to find the killer, communicating with a psychic named Lucy Filipini. Together, they investigate the case in this world and the other world, respectively.

The French novelist stressed that the novel, in the end, speaks about what it means to be alive.

“This generation is lucky. Apart from surviving, we can question the unseen things,” he said. “Without the questions, life is meaningless.”

“The biggest problem of modern civilization is that people do not ask about their existence,” Werber said. He hopes that people ask more about themselves -- for example, why they were born or what they are living for? -- after reading the novel.

A total 1.2 million copies of Werber’s works have sold here, and this marked the author’s eighth visit to the country since 1994.

“Visiting Korea is an important schedule for me. Korea is a country where my works are best understood and read,” the writer said.

“Korean readers are the most intelligent readers in the world,” he added. “The subjects that I discuss are avant-garde. I write for people who are interested in the future.

“France is nostalgic about its past glory. Korea, with pained memories about the past, the people are more interested about the future.

“As I write more and more, I am thankful for the fact that I am alive. I hope you can be thankful for your life, too,” he said.

During his 10-day visit, Werber will meet with the Korean public through open lectures, meetup events and other activities.

The novel has not been published in English yet, like most other works by the novelist. So far, only “The Ants” trilogy has been translated into English.

By Im Eun-byel (silverstar@heraldcorp.com)